OTHER PONTIFICAL ACTS

Vatican City,  (VIS) -  The Holy Father appointed:

- Msgr. Georg Gänswein as prefect of the Pontifical House, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of archbishop. The archbishop-elect was born in Waldshutt, Germany in 1956 and was ordained a priest in 1984. He has served in the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments and in the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, where he held the role of personal secretary to the prefect. He has served as personal secretary to Pope Benedict XVI since his election to the pontificate.

- Fr. Peter Ebere Okpaleke of the clergy of Awka, Nigeria, as bishop of Ahiara (area 425, population 620,000, Catholics 478,000, priests 127, religious 113), Nigeria. The bishop-elect was born in Amesi, Nigeria in 1963 and ordained a priest in 1992. He undertook higher studies in Canon Law at the Holy Cross Pontifical University in Rome, and has held a number of pastoral roles. He is currently a judge at the inter-diocesan tribunal of Onitsha.

- Fr. Adelio Dell'Oro, of the clergy of the archdiocese of Milan, Italy, as apostolic administrator of Atyrau (area 727,600, population 2,181,000, Catholics 2,000, priests 17, religious 14), Kazakhstan, at the same time elevating him to the dignity of bishop. The bishop-elect was born in Milan, Italy in 1948 and ordained a priest in 1972. From 1997 to 2007 he was the spiritual director of the interdiocesan seminary of Karaganda in Kazakhstan and director of Caritas Kazakhstan. From 2007 to 2009 he fulfilled a pastoral role in the archdiocese of Maria Santissima in Astana and taught pastoral theology at the major seminary of Karaganda. He is currently pro-rector of the Collegio Guastalla, Monza, and assistant to the Fraternity of Communion and Liberation for the Archdiocese of Milan.

- Cardinal Fernando Filoni, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the fiftieth anniversary of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni, India, and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the institution of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI), due to take place from 9 to 11 February 2013.

- Archbishop Zygmunt Zimowski, president of the Pontifical Council for Health Pastoral Care, as his special envoy to celebrations marking the twenty-first World Day of the Sick, due to take place at the Marian sanctuary of Altotting, Germany on 11 February 2013.